A Pajama Mama

What have we here?? 330 of my exquisite hand-dipped fall soap leaves. You will FALL IN LOVE with the pecan pie scent that smells good enough to eat...but please, don't try that. I added vitamin e to the glycerin soap to keep our hands nice and soft. Of course, some choose to never use these to wash hands...they simply put them on a pretty dish and let the scent waft through the air. These beauties will be gently bagged up, tied with a pretty bow and sent to a fall festival on the other side of the state.

Meet Paul E. Pocket. The boy Polly Pocket. Look closely and you will see long, curly strawberry-blonde hair all tangled up on Paul. WHY? Doodle somehow managed to get Paul E. tangled up in her curly locks. I had to cut him loose and set him free with scissors. Twas a bit disturbing that his only coverage was painted on. My peeps on Facebook have been offering suggestions for a possible name for boy Polly Pocket, whom I dubbed Paul. E. I've seen OlliePocket. HubbyPocket. And my fave...."Bob, with no last name bc when he became famous, all the other Pockets started asking him for money." One friend offered up a song..."I'm gonna CUT that man right outta my hair." Paul E. is now covered shamefully with an aqua hair scrunchy, standing with one foot in our electric pencil sharpener. Let that be a warning to all Boy Pockets as to what will happen to you if you mess with my girls! Hmph.

After a near record-fast bath, I commented to our 6 year old Doodle that surely she was not even in the water long enough to get all the way wet! She smugly replied,"I even shampooed my own hair without even wetting it!" I checked her head....Sure enough, there was shampoo rubbed into the top of her half-dry hair....little bubbles popping and making that "shampoo not rinsed out good" sound. I don't think it worked out too good for her. She didn't much like having her long curly hair washed by Mama in the kitchen sink! She's definitely our innovative child....gotta give her credit for that!

How CUTE are these? Our nextdoor neighbor has her grands this week for their Fall Break. Our kids love playing together when we can. She invited Doodle and Butter over to create this super cute edible craft! This idea is from Southern Living. (Click here .) Each child had their own (very clean) bud vase that they filled with candy corn to poke their moon pie owl into. No, I don't have a picture of our own personal final products bc they sorta didn't make it home in one piece!

This evening, El Hero noticed two strange $12.00 charges on our debit card for supposed memberships in "shoppersdiscount.com" and "reservation reward.com." After I assured him that I had nothing whatsoever to do with these memberships, he called their 1-800 number. Meanwhile, I was in FULL GOOGLE MODE! Didn't take long to see that this was a deceptive scam and the two are from the same bogus company. Here's how it works. Have you ever ordered anything online and after the transaction you see something like "Would you like to save $10 on your next purchase?" or "Receive a $10 coupon, now!"? Apparently, the company you just ordered from allows your credit card information to be given to the scammers. They then take the info and "enroll" you in their "discount club" and start charging $12.00 monthly fees. How is that even legal, pray tell? We found out ours happened through Fandango.com where we buy movie tickets. Actual...

I seriously love chalkboards. It's the teacher in me. You can keep your dry-erase boards. I prefer chalk. Imagine my sheer delight when I bought my first can of chalkboard paint!!!!!! Through the years, I have scoured yard sales and thrift stores looking for fun things to make into a chalkboard. Suffice it to say, we have a gracious plenty mini-chalkboards in our learning room. Earlier this summer, I scared My Hero slap to death. He came home one day to find me painting one side of our fridge BLACK. He was slightly...SLIGHTLY less frightened when I assured him it was not JUST black paint but CHALKBOARD paint! The ugly fridge is now a useful fridge! Still ugly. But useful and FUN! Butter's 10 Birthday Notice Chalkfridge behind his head. I couldn't believe my eyes when I recently saw two wonderfully old chalkboards discarded by a local church! Who wouldn't want them???? This is the sweet old chalkboard that is still awaiting it's refurbishing. It didn't take but ...

Hello everyone! Thank you for your kindness, patience and understanding while I took my Unoffical Summer Bloggy Break. We are in our 3rd month of our homeschooling year and are running full steam ahead with our busy schedule. Mondays are the only days that we don't have outside activities and you better believe I guard Mondays with my life. They are our most productive days. I revamped our school room this summer and am so pleased with the results. Wanna see some pics? The two littles and I spend the most time in the school room. Rayray is too studious. She prefers independent learning in her own space. Doodle's chair is the pink one. Butter's is green. In case you wondered. Other side of the school room.... Wave to the hermit crabs! See the awesome chalboard? More on that...later! First Day of School They LOVE their new learning space!!